A number of methods are employed in the prior art for the security administration of closed spaces such as stores after closing, warehouses, safes, etc. Specifically, combinations of the below listed methods have been used.
(1) Prohibiting intrusion
(2) Sealing doors
(3) Detecting the disappearance of articles
(4) Detecting the carrying out of articles
(5) Detecting intruders
(6) Detecting tools or the physical action of tools used for intrusion
(7) Detecting actions following the intrusion
(8) Detecting articles carried in.
With the increasing diversification of threats in recent years, we now face threats of the type that have not been experienced in the past. To wit, in the past, criminals with a profit motive would commit theft or other crimes, and almost all such threats could be dealt with by preventing the theft of articles or information. Now, however, new types of threats are on the rise. There are more and more instances of terrorists acts and the like which cannot be prevented by conventional security systems. As a result, there have been criminal acts which cannot be dealt with by the aforementioned conventional methods. Examples of such acts include:
(1) Secreting an explosive device into cargo,
(2) Planting a bomb on a truck or container while it is being transported,
(3) Creating disruptions of economic activity by reporting the planting of a bomb when none has actually been planted.
(4) Spreading bacteria or other hazardous material onto goods being transported.
In the past, the shipper confirmed the goods being transported and would make the proper notifications of whether or not those goods were hazardous. Now, however, there have been a number of crimes in which viruses or bacteria have been spread over the cargo, and even if the shipper has confirmed that the goods, their packaging, the means of transport, and the transporters are all safe, it is impossible to guaranty the safety of the goods once they arrive. Or, explosive devices can be secreted into trucks, ships or containers during transport, breaching the security measures that were deemed adequate, to thereby create the threat of a remotely controlled explosion once the goods have arrived at their destination.
To analyze the problems points surrounding the use of shipping containers, for example, the following types of problems are clearly inherent in the security methods of the prior art.
(1) The safe status of transport containers are only guaranteed for a very short period of time when they are in a secure state just prior to and just after being transported.
(2) When transport containers are being transported by truck, train, ship or aircraft, they are in an insecure state during a great deal of the time while they are being restacked or rerouted, or while under transport.
(3) Since theft is not always the objective, almost all containers need to be closely monitored, even those containing goods of little value.
(4) Using security personnel to keep watch over containers during their transport is unrealistic from a cost perspective.
(5) Strengthening container doors and locks to prevent theft does not deal with the new threats described above which can be carried out by intrusion through container walls, etc.
(6) In cases of dangerous actions wherein the actions following the intrusions or the physical properties or shape of articles secreted into the container cannot be predicted, vulnerabilities remain when the secreted article is not subjected to a proper detection method.
(7) When all of the goods that were loaded into the containers are all accounted for after their arrival with no items missing, security methods aimed at detecting theft are not adequate in providing comprehensive security.
(8) Possibilities to create social and economic disruption occur when false notifications are made that dangerous articles have been planted, causing a large quantity of transported goods to be stripped down and closely inspected.
In order to prevent damage from these types of crimes, it is necessary to guarantee that each and every container be maintained and kept in a safe and secure manner. However, within the current economic and commerce systems, there are a vast number of goods being transported, and accordingly, it is nearly impossible to maintain a secure state over each and every article being transported.
Also, in an era when there are ever-changing threats, it is very difficult to detect every article or action that could pose a threat before that threat materializes. Accordingly, the prior art, focused as it was on the detection and prevention of theft, is clearly inadequate to deal with these new contingencies.
Further, in the case of containers used for transport, it would be difficult to equip them with the same type of secure walls used in safes, and since they are easily accessed during their transport, they pose the highest risk of being subjected to unlawful actions.